If there was a theme in Week 7’s target chart, it might have been surprising players getting a lot of targets and not doing much with them. In some cases, these performances may represent a buying opportunity. In others, like Robbie Anderson and Keelan Cole, there is little reason to believe things will get significantly better even if the targets remain steady. Let’s take a look at the target leaders from last week and the whole season.
| Player | Team | Targets | Rec | Yards | TDs | Drops | Catch % | ADoT | Yards Per Target |
| Adam Thielen | MIN | 88 | 67 | 822 | 5 | 3 | 76 | 9.6 | 9.3 |
| Julio Jones | ATL | 77 | 53 | 812 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 14.9 | 10.5 |
| Zach Ertz | PHI | 76 | 57 | 618 | 2 | 3 | 75 | 7.8 | 8.1 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | NYG | 76 | 53 | 649 | 2 | 1 | 70 | 11.4 | 8.5 |
| Jarvis Landry | CLV | 73 | 41 | 489 | 2 | 4 | 56 | 10.5 | 6.7 |
| Antonio Brown | PIT | 71 | 40 | 478 | 6 | 1 | 56 | 11.3 | 6.7 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | HST | 70 | 47 | 707 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 13.5 | 10.1 |
| A.J. Green | CIN | 69 | 40 | 611 | 5 | 4 | 58 | 13.7 | 8.9 |
| Stefon Diggs | MIN | 67 | 48 | 468 | 3 | 0 | 72 | 10.8 | 7 |
| Davante Adams | GB | 65 | 47 | 557 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 10.4 | 8.6 |
| Michael Crabtree | BLT | 64 | 35 | 409 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 10.9 | 6.4 |
| Tyreek Hill | KC | 60 | 41 | 635 | 7 | 4 | 68 | 15.9 | 10.6 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | PIT | 60 | 42 | 561 | 2 | 2 | 70 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | DEN | 60 | 46 | 592 | 3 | 1 | 77 | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Michael Thomas | NO | 58 | 53 | 588 | 4 | 3 | 91 | 6.9 | 10.1 |
| Saquon Barkley | NYG | 58 | 49 | 424 | 2 | 2 | 84 | -0.4 | 7.3 |
| James White | NE | 57 | 45 | 380 | 6 | 2 | 79 | 3.3 | 6.7 |
| Eric Ebron | IND | 57 | 33 | 357 | 6 | 1 | 58 | 10.6 | 6.3 |
| Robert Woods | LAR | 56 | 41 | 602 | 3 | 1 | 73 | 11.8 | 10.8 |
| Corey Davis | TEN | 55 | 30 | 395 | 1 | 2 | 55 | 9.7 | 7.2 |
| Mike Evans | TB | 54 | 40 | 591 | 3 | 3 | 74 | 15.3 | 10.9 |
| Travis Kelce | KC | 53 | 38 | 563 | 3 | 2 | 72 | 9.4 | 10.6 |
| Keenan Allen | LAC | 51 | 41 | 506 | 1 | 1 | 80 | 8.8 | 9.9 |
| Tyler Boyd | CIN | 51 | 40 | 482 | 4 | 0 | 78 | 9.3 | 9.5 |
| Golden Tate | DET | 50 | 37 | 467 | 3 | 5 | 74 | 6.8 | 9.3 |
| Nelson Agholor | PHI | 50 | 38 | 330 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 7.1 | 6.6 |
| Demaryius Thomas | DEN | 49 | 33 | 372 | 3 | 6 | 67 | 10.9 | 7.6 |
| Sterling Shepard | NYG | 49 | 36 | 508 | 2 | 3 | 73 | 9.7 | 10.4 |
| John Brown | BLT | 49 | 28 | 558 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 21.1 | 11.4 |
| Alvin Kamara | NO | 49 | 40 | 362 | 1 | 1 | 82 | 2 | 7.4 |
| George Kittle | SF | 48 | 32 | 527 | 2 | 2 | 67 | 7.8 | 11 |
| David Njoku | CLV | 47 | 31 | 297 | 2 | 7 | 66 | 8.6 | 6.3 |
| Willie Snead IV | BLT | 47 | 33 | 336 | 1 | 3 | 70 | 9.7 | 7.1 |
| Devin Funchess | CAR | 46 | 29 | 374 | 3 | 3 | 63 | 13 | 8.1 |
| Donte Moncrief | JAX | 46 | 25 | 329 | 2 | 3 | 54 | 13.5 | 7.2 |
| Chester Rogers | IND | 45 | 32 | 295 | 1 | 6 | 71 | 7 | 6.6 |
| Christian McCaffrey | CAR | 45 | 40 | 289 | 1 | 0 | 89 | 0.9 | 6.4 |
| Keelan Cole | JAX | 43 | 27 | 357 | 1 | 5 | 63 | 9.9 | 8.3 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | ARZ | 43 | 26 | 255 | 1 | 2 | 60 | 9.1 | 5.9 |
| Allen Robinson II | CHI | 43 | 25 | 285 | 2 | 1 | 58 | 12.6 | 6.6 |
| Kenny Golladay | DET | 42 | 29 | 465 | 3 | 1 | 69 | 10.7 | 11.1 |
| Jared Cook | OAK | 42 | 32 | 400 | 2 | 1 | 76 | 6.9 | 9.5 |
| Cole Beasley | DAL | 42 | 33 | 350 | 2 | 1 | 79 | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| Brandin Cooks | LAR | 41 | 32 | 569 | 2 | 1 | 78 | 14.1 | 13.9 |
| Quincy Enunwa | NYJ | 40 | 22 | 287 | 1 | 4 | 55 | 8.8 | 7.2 |
| Austin Hooper | ATL | 40 | 33 | 321 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 7.9 | 8 |
| Jimmy Graham | GB | 40 | 27 | 349 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 9.8 | 8.7 |
| Dede Westbrook | JAX | 39 | 31 | 402 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 8.2 | 10.3 |
| T.J. Yeldon | JAX | 39 | 30 | 253 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 1.5 | 6.5 |
| T.Y. Hilton | IND | 39 | 25 | 319 | 4 | 2 | 64 | 9.8 | 8.2 |
| Nyheim Hines | IND | 39 | 32 | 180 | 2 | 2 | 82 | 1.6 | 4.6 |
Breakdowns
Michael Thomas comes in at just 15th on our target leaderboard, a whopping 30 targets behind Adam Thielen . Even so, Thomas probably has the most unbelievable stat line in our chart. Thomas has caught 53 of 58 targets this season, with three drops. I’m pretty sure Drew Brees would be second on my MVP ballot right now, but if you wanted to put him ahead of Todd Gurley , that might be a reason to do it.- Corey Davis remains in the top 20 in the NFL in targets, but he is nothing more than a bye-week fill-in at this point. Davis had a brutal drop Sunday in London, and while it was only his second of the season, Davis is tied with Michael Crabtree for the lowest catch rate of anyone in the top 30 in targets. Davis is still a dynasty target, but until that offense looks functional for more than a quarter at a time, he needs to be benched most weeks.
- Jarvis Landry led the league in targets in Week 7, bringing him up to fifth on our leaderboard. Landry’s catch rate is just barely better than Corey Davis ’s, and Landry’s average depth of target is the lowest of any of the players with 60 or more targets. Even so, Landry has re-established himself as a WR2 most weeks.
- Devin Funchess was one of nine players with multiple drops in Week 7, and while it may be tempted to look at his 11 targets and think he is trending up, I tend to think the six catches for 62 yards and a touchdown he did have were more the result of poor defense than anything he did particularly well.
- Heard inside my head this week: “I’m glad to see Stefon Diggs got back on track with 14 targets after he only had five in Week 6. He only had eight catches for 33 yards? I wonder if I can trade for him.” Diggs is ninth in the NFL in targets, and he is too good not to turn those targets into more fantasy production sooner than later.
- David Njoku is sixth in targets among tight ends. He is second among all receivers with seven drops, but I like the consistent target share. At the very least, Njoku is startable every week.
- As much as I like Njoku, I think I like O.J. Howard even more. He only caught five of his nine targets last week, but Howard has at least 54 receiving yards in five of his six games this season, and I’m excited for his prospects the rest of the way even if his targets remain inconsistent.
- I know it has become fashionable to compare Mitchell Trubisky to Blake Bortles , but just like Bortles, I don’t think you can trust any of Trubisky’s targets. You probably have to start Trey Burton , especially if Allen Robinson isn’t 100 percent, but it’s no coincidence Burton has fewer than 25 receiving yards in three of his six games this season. I don’t think Burton’s nine catches on 11 targets Sunday are a sign of things to come.
- Tajae Sharpe might be my nominee for the quietest 100 yard game of the season. He caught seven of eight targets for 101 yards, but it’s obvious the only threat in Tennessee’s passing game is Dion Lewis . If the Titans’ offense is functional going forward, Sharpe can be a poor man’s Tyler Boyd , but that doesn’t have much value outside of deep leagues.